


Thoughts of Departure

by orenjikitty



Series: Montis Insignia Calpe [2]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Pharmercy, domestic AU, implied bubblegum explosions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2016-07-17
Packaged: 2018-07-20 02:57:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7387777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orenjikitty/pseuds/orenjikitty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She knew she couldn't change the past. But Hana's graduation was less than a year away. Angela can't help but overthink the situation.</p><p>Same Universe as Panic! At the PTA Meeting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Gaggle of Dogs

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not through with this universe. Not by a long shot.

The thought had kept invading her mind since the summer started. In just a few short months, school would be going again, signaling Hana’s last year in high school. Their baby girl leaving them for another country, let alone a university in the US, made her frown. She secretly wished she would stay in Europe, even go to the university she worked at but she wasn’t going to stop her from pursuing her dreams.

Fareeha walked into her office, cup of coffee in hand and gave her a confused look. “You okay, _ya amar_?” Angela nodded, giving her a quick thank you before turning back to her thoughts. Fareeha frowned, sitting down at one of the chairs in front of her desk. “Angela…”

Angela sighed. She knew Fareeha well enough that she wasn’t going to leave until she told her. “It’s about Hana.”

Fareeha’s face fell almost immediately, sitting straighter in her chair. “Did Jamison do something to her? I swear…”

“No,” Angela cut her off, giving her a smile. “It’s not about that.”

Subtlety wasn’t Hana’s specialty, far from it. Though she tried to keep it a secret, the amount of times Jamison’s name came up in casual conversation was too much to be a coincidence. They finally managed to get Hana to tell them the truth, with Hana stammering through the entire thing. They invited Jamison and his uncle Mako over for dinner as a courtesy, Hana against the entire thing but Jamison agreed.

The standoff between Mako and Fareeha was a sight to be seen; the giant butcher easily towering over her wife yet Fareeha didn’t look intimidated at the slightest. The night ended peacefully, with Jamison and Fareeha connecting over cars and horrible puns and Mako’s surprising knowledge of wines and horticulture.

“Then what is it?” Fareeha asked, sipping her own tea.

“She’s leaving for university soon,” Angela replied, letting out a sad sigh. “We’ll have an empty nest.”

“We have Bastion,” Fareeha offered, getting a stern look. “I know, I know. I’ve been thinking about it too. All those brochures that came in the mail last week kinda hammered it home. Berkley, UCLA, Northwestern…Nothing even on the continent.”

Angela sighed, eyes going over the brochures on her desk. Hana had sent for them in the mail, excitedly putting them down on her desk as they came in. They had promised her a trip to see some of them later in the summer, as part of their US trip.

“Do you regret not adopting just one more?” Fareeha asked her suddenly.

She thought about it. When they married, they were both at the beginnings of their careers; Fareeha was just starting out at Helix, while she was getting used to being the lead surgeon at the University Children’s Hospital back in Zurich. It took them years to find a comfortable balance between just the two of them, but they had always wanted to adopt.

It took them well over a year before they were allowed to adopt internationally. All the interviews, the paperwork and the constant back and forth, all during the advent of technology, were a mind-numbing process but they had managed it. They were also young, Fareeha having just turned 25 at the time. She was only 28 but her position afforded them some leeways in processing their application.

It was her that flew to Korea to pick up Hana. Fareeha was beside herself when she found out that couldn’t be there as her wife because of their laws. Helix didn’t help the situation either, sending her back to Egypt for a security job that turned awry. But she gritted her teeth, vowing to meet her at the airport the minute they landed.

It was Reinhardt that came with her, mostly for moral support but Angela also knew she wouldn’t have been able to stop him from coming. The man was so enthusiastic that he was finally to have a granddaughter that he refused to let the baby go once all the paperwork had been filed. All the papers said Hana Ziegler but within a year, Fareeha was able to adopt Hana on her own right.

They were new parents, neither of them really knowing how to take care of an infant. It took a lot of trial and error but they had worked it out. It helped that they had family and friends who were able to give them advice and babysit when they were both away.

Did she regret not adopting more? “A little,” Angela replied. “I’m just imagining the house filled with more laughter, more toys.”

“Lots of bickering, crying and screams,” Fareeha added with a smile. “Another girl?”

Angela shrugged. “I think Hana would have loved a brother. All the toys they could have shared, especially now.” Fareeha chuckled at that. The amount of electronics and games their daughter had was befitting that of a collector. It didn’t help that Fareeha was to blame for most of it, using their daughter as an excuse to buy the latest and newest title so she can play through it before telling Hana. “Although another girl means she would stop experimenting nail polish designs or braids on me.”

Fareeha snorted, gazing outside the window. The sun was already high up, even though it was barely 10 am. They sat in silence for a bit, letting the soft sounds of the radio in the other room come in. “We can still adopt, you know. If you want to,” Fareeha suggested.

“I know,” Angela replied, eyeing the picture of their family on her desk. It was taken a couple of years back, when they all went to Korea. Reinhardt towered over everyone, his smile radiant as he gave a thumbs up. Hana’s foster family, the Songs, stood beside them, giving a reserved smile. Fareeha’s arm was wrapped around her waist, while her arm was around Hana’s shoulder. She imagined the same picture with some younger kids. “How do you think Hana would feel that we waited until she was leaving to adopt again?”

Fareeha visibly shrugged. “She’ll probably play it off like it’s nothing but you know her. She’ll be confused and hurt. She’ll probably think we’re replacing her.” Angela frowned at the thought. She didn’t want to ever think Hana was being replaced for her own selfish reasons. Fareeha read her mind clearly and gave her a small smile, getting up. “I’m playing devil’s advocate, I know.”

“But a necessary one,” she admitted. “It’s just…I’m going to miss her...”

Fareeha moved around the desk, turning her chair to face her as she knelt down. “I’ll miss her too, _habibi_.” Fareeha brushed away a tear, kissing her hands as she clasped her own around them. “But it’s her choice, where she goes. We’ve prepared her enough for the world; she’s bright and talented and has a pretty mean left hook. Where ever she goes, we’ll visit her as much as we can.”

Angela nodded mutely, not trusting her voice at the moment. Their little girl was all grown, with a boyfriend now, and soon, was going to be leaving them. Fareeha pulled her into her arms, gently stroking her hair as she let out the last sobs. “But seriously, we can always get more dogs. We can be those empty nesters, with a gaggle of dogs.”

She had to laugh at that. “A gaggle is for group of geese. Pack is the term you’re looking for, _Liebling_ ,” Angela corrected.

“We can get that too. A gaggle of geese, a pack of dogs, a colony of rabbits, you name it.” Fareeha joked. “We can turn Hana’s room into an obstacle course for the rabbits.”

“WHAT?!” they turned to see their daughter at the door, hair still in a disarray from sleep. “No! No turning my room into something else! What are you guys talking about?”

Fareeha chuckled, standing upright to go to the door. “Planning for your eventual departure for Uni. Mum doesn’t want an empty nest so I’m trying to convince her to get a colony of rabbits.”

“I’m cool with that,” Hana replied.

“But that means we need to convert your room into their room.”

“Not cool with that. Where am I supposed to stay when I come home?” Hana all but shrieked. “What will you do to all my games?”

“We have a fold-out couch,” Fareeha teased, earning a hurt gasp from the teenager. “And sell them, of course. A full collection of Assassin’s Creed collectors’ editions, with the original boxes fetch a good chunk on E-Bay, right?”

Hana visibly paled, her eyes darting back and forth between the smirking woman and her. “No. No. It’s too early for this shit. I’m gonna pretend this conversation didn’t happen and drink my coffee in my room.” The teenager turned and left for the kitchen, shaking her head.

“The rabbits’ room!” Fareeha called out, laughing as Hana cursed down the hall.

Angela could only smile, shaking her head as she picked up her coffee. It needed to be reheated now. She kissed Fareeha on the cheek, grabbing her hand to lead her into the kitchen.

For now, they’re fine as three, four if you counted Bastion.

But who knows what the future holds.


	2. 8 hour Time Difference

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter went through so many revisions. It started from Fareeha's perspective, then flipped to Hana's then back to Fareeha's. It was from Reinhardt's perspective at one point. I'm not really happy with it but it's the most fitting one.

Hana was flipping through her phone, tossing a piece of lamb down to where Bastion lay. He happily ate it up, barking and sitting back down, asking for more. Hana petted him, wiping her hand on the napkin before turning her gaze back to her phone.

Pictures of Stanford’s campus made her pine harder. Even though they were to visit it in a couple of weeks, she could imagine herself already there. She wouldn’t mind UCLA or Berkley either but Stanford was, and has always been, her first choice.

Having her grandma teach there isn’t a bad thing either. Thank you Professor Amari.

However, the conversation she overheard this morning didn’t leave her mind. Her parents wanted more kids, something they never really talked about before. Sure, Fareeha joked about it when she was younger, but nothing ever really came from it.

It was quiet in the house, save for Bastion’s snores and her own music playing from her room. Her parents had left to get groceries, her Ammi giving her a wink before the elevator closed its doors. She would get some salty snacks then, unlike when it was just her mum getting groceries. Fareeha always managed to sneak in some snacks during those trips, much to Angela’s dismay.

Hana looked around the house and never felt it so empty before. She stood at the kitchen island, looking out towards the glass windows and the sea views. In her mind, she could picture a brother, blasting their music, probably something to counter act the mix Lúcio gave her. Probably something like Kanye West or Baby Metal. Hana could also picture a sister, a younger one, sitting out in the sun chairs outside by the pool, eyes closed behind her sunglasses as she soaks in the rays.

She shakes her head and all of it disappears. She wondered how her friends would have reacted if she had siblings. Probably the same, she was sure. Only they would more blackmail material on her. Maybe it was a good thing she was an only child.

Her phone buzzed, another snapchat from Lena coming in, making her smile. The girl was back in England, doing her some of her RAF training. The picture had her smiling beside Winston, the taller boy making another contorted face. She laughed, sending them a picture of the view from the living room, something she knew Winston missed since he’s been in England. _Suns out. Guns out?_ She typed into the text box.

In a sense, her friends we like her siblings. Most of them, Lúcio and Lena especially, spent a significant time at her house. It was summer now though, and most of them are gone. Lúcio was back in Brazil for a couple of weeks, spending time with his biological dad. Satya was still here but she had an internship at a Spanish architecture firm that taking up her time.

She went into her mum’s office, drink in hand, looking at the brochures she had left there. She looked around the office, bookshelves line with medical journals, thick books that probably weighed more than her but her eyes rest on the small cement pad on the middle shelf. She touched it, fingers ghosting over the words on the plaque. _Hana, age 3._ Her eyes went to the picture beside it, the picture of her being carried by Reinhardt, Fareeha looking at her, clear love in her eyes. To its right was the necklace she made her mum when she was still in elementary, mismatched plastic string and beads, now covered in dust.

Hana turned and walked out, only to go into the room beside it; Fareeha’s office. Her ammi’s room was more decorated, serving as a prayer room as well. It was rare that she stepped in there, opting to use her mum’s office supplies since it was always closer (and Angela’s passwords were easier to crack). It was here though, where she spotted what she was looking for.

At the bottom shelf, numerically labeled albums sat perfectly in line. Hana grabbed the first one and started flipping through them. One of the first pictures was of her parents, significantly younger but still the same. Angela held up the camera above their heads, taking the picture. Fareeha’s face as buried in the blonde hair but her smile came through. The second picture was almost the same, but it was Fareeha holding the camera instead, kissing Angela on the cheek. Hana flipped through the rest, almost all of them of her parents when they were younger before she stopped.

A candid family picture, taken by her grandfather, based on the angle. It was still in the airport, Fareeha slumped forward arms wrapped tightly around Angela, Angela holding her in her bunny onesie. The next couple of pictures showed her first interactions with her parents; Fareeha handing her a toy. Fareeha carrying her as she played, Angela giving them the same loving look. Hana opened the next album, laughing at the memories of many of her firsts. The last album was before Gibraltar, picture of her with their old dog, Zenyatta, Zenny for short. The old Malamute passed away before they could move, much to her dismay. Memory cards filled the rest of the album, Fareeha’s and Angela’s handwriting detailing what each one held.

Hana sighed, putting the albums back before getting up from the floor. She loved her parents, grateful for them and all they’ve done. Would they have been able to afford another child? She didn’t doubt it. Even though her parents kept talk of their finances to a minimum, Hana knew that they were doing more than fine. Her parents didn’t flinch when she had told them she wanted to study in the US. She knew the exuberant amounts she would have to pay as an international student but they were still willing to pay for her schooling.

She left the office and made her way back to her own room, lying down on the bed. Stanford was her dream, yes. She knew her parents wouldn’t stop her from that. But Europe was…home. If she left, she would be away from everyone she knew and loved. Lena was going to be in England, with Winston. Lúcio had his heart set in the _Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler_ , one of the continent’s best music academies, even if Julliard had already agreed to let him come. Amélie and Satya were already in France and Madrid respectively. Even Genji was going to stay and go to Warsaw.

If she left, she’d have… “No one,” Hana said out loud. “I’d have no one in the US.”

“That’s not true,” Angela spoke up, making her jump.

“Fuck, Mum, don’t do that.”

“Language,” Angela chastised before sitting on her bed. “You didn’t hear us call your name out?”

“No, sorry, was deep in thought,” Hana admitted. Fareeha came in, tossing her a small cookie bag while she ate a stick of celery.

“What’s wrong, _Kaninchen_?” Fareeha asked, standing at the foot of the bed.

Hana sighed and explained. “I heard most of your conversation yesterday, before Ammi started joking about the colony of rabbits. I know you both love me, and that you’d be sad to see me go, especially if I go to the US.” She stopped, not looking either of her mothers in the eye. “But…I don’t know if I want to go there anymore.”

“While you guys were gone, I looked at our photo albums. I know it’s my decision in the end, but I’m not sure if I want to leave. All of my friends are here on the continent. I don’t want to lose them because of distance and an 8 hour time difference. I know it’ll happen sooner or later that we’ll drift apart but…”

“And for the record, I do think it’s good for you guys to adopt again. You both have a lot of love to offer, especially to other kids out there. A lot of them aren’t as lucky as I was. With the love you’ve given me. With everything you’ve done for me. I…I feel super selfish that you would think I would have kept you from adopting someone else because you thought I would think you were replacing me.”

Fareeha and Angela were immediately by her side, hugging her. Tears started to flow, all three of them sobbing now. “I love you guys.”

“And we love you with all our heart, _Kaninchen_ ,” Fareeha replied, wiping the tears away, her own still falling. “We can never replace you. You’re our Hana.” Angela nodded in agreement, not trusting her voice. “And we thought about it, while we were out. We’re not going to adopt again. We might look into fostering some kids, for long term. Help the older ones who weren’t adopted have some stability in their lives. We’d have to look into it more though, especially with our work schedules the way they are right now, but that’s our plan.”

“That sounds awesome,” Hana said, her parents moving to the foot of her bed once again. “You’ll keep my room though, right?”

Angela laughed, nodding yes. “It’s your room, as long as we live in this house. Who knows, I might get offered something else and we move but you’ll always have a room where ever we are It might be a year or two but we’ll let you know if we do decide to go through with it.”

“Sweet,” Hana said, opening the package of cookies. “So, what now?”

Angela shrugged, still stroking her knee. “Put away the groceries. Make dinner and plan for our trip? It's only a couple of week away.”

Hana smiled. “Sounds like a plan.”


End file.
